Chartreuse

Chartreuse, or La Grande Chartreuse, in the Isere department, 14 miles from Grenoble, and 4,268 feet above the level of the sea, is the famous Carthusian monastery, founded by St. Bruno in 1084. The convent had formerly an extensive property, but this was confiscated by the State in 1793. The monks were allowed to return from exile in 1816. They were threatened with expulsion in 1880, and made preparations for it by transferring their library to a new monastery at Cowfold, in Sussex. Some monks, however, still remain. They received Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrice in 1887. The monastery is famous as being the original place of manufacture of the Chartreuse liqueur, which, green or yellow or white, has been tasted by most people.